You've found the most comfortable hiking shoes ever, but when you try them on the trail, you find they offer abysmal toe protection. It takes a year to grow back your toenails. What will you do? What WILL you do?

Well this IS MYOG. If your shoes are fabric running shoes, try doing what I did. Go to your local hardware store and buy a can of "Plasti Dip", several 1" disposable foam brushes and a roll of duct tape and get ready for some fun.

Carefully mask off the toe area of your shoes, stuff the toe with newspaper or insert a shoe tree to hold the toe shape, brush a generous coat of plastidip on the toe, immediately remove the tape while orienting the shoe such that any little streamers of Plastidip fall back on the toe area. Wait several hours, lightly sand the plastidip, repeat until you have a good stiff toe coating (see photo). I should mention that I used a heatgun immediately after removing the duct tape. I applied heat just long enough for the sheen to go off the plastidip on the theory that it would prevent sag and the adhesion of dust. I never tried it without the heat gun so I don't know if this is a necessary step.